First post and airbag lamp

[nuster]

I just helped my daughter find and purchase a 2005 convertable, manual transmssinion, with 96K from a Ford dealership. The night before we went to look at it I investicated about the timing belt on this engine. Many articles and videos so I decided I can do this if I can not determine that it has been changed. The dealership did not have any information so I will do this when the weather breaks (Indiana) and asked for and recieved $200 price reduction for my cost of parts. As soon as I can stand to be outside I will remove the upper belt cover. That looks easy enough. I should be able to visual the belt and tell the difference between 7 years and 96K miles or a more recent change. What is the easyist way to idendtify the motor, i.e. a "BEV". "AG" ect? Any other things highly important I should consider? This car is clean and drives like new. The new Michelins are almost new, the spare has never touched the ground. The dealer right away told me that the airbag ight was on and the owner said it had been reset 3 times. We took a chance. I since then read about the seat belt buckle. I Ebay'ed a cable, dowwnloaded VCDS-Lite and connected. Went to the AigBag section, and was somewhat alarmed by the on screen warnings of turn off ignition now, wait for the 26 second count down, turn ignition back on stuff. Anyway nothing blew up and I did clear the buckle switch error and the light went off. I have since entered, started, buckled up, drove 3 times and the light is still off. I will not do anything untill the light reappears. I believe it will. What is the proper sequence to attach the cable, turn igniton on, select the airbag module? I want to make sure I do this right. Another fault I cleared was implausible clutch switch setting. Not too worried, but curious, and thanks all for this fine forum. We have a Fiero, and 2 early 80's BMW motorcycles so I know the value of these forums. I do electronics / automation for the factory I work at so I fully understand the idea of the 470 ohm resistor and will probably go that way if this persists. Thanks again.

[jfoj]

Seat belt buckles are a problem in these cars relative to airbag lights and not easily releasing at times.

Assume it is/was an airbag code for the drivers side seat belt buckle? I would just pony up and replace it just because it is your daughter driving the car.

The other thing I would suggest you buy is this for $45 and leave it with the car. Amazon.com: Hot MaxScan VAG405 Code Reader OBD2 EOBD CAN BUS VW Audi: Car Electronics

Easier than a computer based reader and if and when your daughter is away with the car, you can teach her how to use it and she can tell you or whom ever needs to know what the code(s) may be. The only downside as this tool does not read/display real time data. This is what I did for my daughter and her 2003 Vert.

The other thing I would do is check the coolant temp with your VCDS. It should be 200-205F pretty consistently. These thermostats fail open all the time and start to run too cool, but more often than no do not trigger a CEL. At least this is an each check and item to rule out.

Also check your fuel trims.

With the mileage on the car, I would plan for a thermostat change, a front 02 sensor change, fuel filter and cabin filter change as well. They are likely all original, especially the cabin filter. Plan on cleaning out the front cowl area well when you change the cabin filter. Check YouTube as there are some good videos on the fuel filter and cabin filter change for these cars.

Good luck and read up on these cars.

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by nuster

I just helped my daughter find and purchase a 2005 convertable, manual transmssinion, with 96K from a Ford dealership. The night before we went to look at it I investicated about the timing belt on this engine. Many articles and videos so I decided I can do this if I can not determine that it has been changed. The dealership did not have any information so I will do this when the weather breaks (Indiana) and asked for and recieved $200 price reduction for my cost of parts. As soon as I can stand to be outside I will remove the upper belt cover. That looks easy enough. I should be able to visual the belt and tell the difference between 7 years and 96K miles or a more recent change. What is the easyist way to idendtify the motor, i.e. a "BEV". "AG" ect? Any other things highly important I should consider? This car is clean and drives like new. The new Michelins are almost new, the spare has never touched the ground. The dealer right away told me that the airbag ight was on and the owner said it had been reset 3 times. We took a chance. I since then read about the seat belt buckle. I Ebay'ed a cable, dowwnloaded VCDS-Lite and connected. Went to the AigBag section, and was somewhat alarmed by the on screen warnings of turn off ignition now, wait for the 26 second count down, turn ignition back on stuff. Anyway nothing blew up and I did clear the buckle switch error and the light went off. I have since entered, started, buckled up, drove 3 times and the light is still off. I will not do anything untill the light reappears. I believe it will. What is the proper sequence to attach the cable, turn igniton on, select the airbag module? I want to make sure I do this right. Another fault I cleared was implausible clutch switch setting. Not too worried, but curious, and thanks all for this fine forum. We have a Fiero, and 2 early 80's BMW motorcycles so I know the value of these forums. I do electronics / automation for the factory I work at so I fully understand the idea of the 470 ohm resistor and will probably go that way if this persists. Thanks again.

Hi nuster, and welcome to the ORG. Where in Indiana are you located? I am in the Circle City myself (Indianapolis)

The easiest way to check what kind of engine you have is looking at your engine cover. If it says 20V or Turbo it is one of the last 1.8 Turbos (2005 was the last year for them on the Beetle) If it doesn't than it's a 2.0 4 cylinder which isn't quite as much fun as the 1.8 Turbo but easier to work on as far as changing the timing belt goes. If you have the 1.8 the engine code most likely is AWP if you have the 2.0 it's either AEG, AVH or AZG those are all 2.0 liter codes and I am not sure which one they used in 2005.

There really isn't a way to really tell if the timing belt is 10k miles old or 100k miles old. That is the problem. Once the belt looks worn it is already too late and you are in a world of hurt. At 96k miles I would definitely suggest replacing it ASAP. It's not only the timing belt that can fail. The tensioner, pulley, water pump are all major components that if any one of those items fail or lock up the timing belt will be affected. If it even just jumps a couple of teeth the valves and pistons will collide and you will need to have some major engine work done. So the timing belt maintenance is probably the most important thing you most definitely need to do to this beetle to keep it running.
There is a shop here in Indianapolis which I highly recommend. It's called EP Werks and they are the most reasonable and qualified VW/Audi/Porsche shop here in Indiana. I know the head mechanic personally and he has Certified Porsche/Audi/VW mechanic and has worked for a local Dealership for many years. He didn't agree how they treat the customers there and gouge the prices and only do the minimal work required to get the car back on the road so he opened up us own shop and has been doing very well at a fraction of any dealer costs. Timing belt service starts at around $609 on up. The 1.8 is more expensive since there are more parts involved and more work. I believe it's $750 for the 1.8 including all parts and labor.

Anyway, Good Luck and Hope you keep that beetle running for a long time.

[jfoj]

'05 Vert shows 3 engine codes
BKF - 1.8l
BEV - 2.0l
BGD - 2.0l

Search around on the Net or visit the dealer with your VIN and they should be able to confirm the exact engine code if needed.

[esse10]

Originally Posted by nuster

I just helped my daughter find and purchase a 2005 convertable, manual transmssinion, with 96K from a Ford dealership. The night before we went to look at it I investicated about the timing belt on this engine. Many articles and videos so I decided I can do this if I can not determine that it has been changed. The dealership did not have any information so I will do this when the weather breaks (Indiana) and asked for and recieved $200 price reduction for my cost of parts. As soon as I can stand to be outside I will remove the upper belt cover. That looks easy enough. I should be able to visual the belt and tell the difference between 7 years and 96K miles or a more recent change. What is the easyist way to idendtify the motor, i.e. a "BEV". "AG" ect? Any other things highly important I should consider? This car is clean and drives like new. The new Michelins are almost new, the spare has never touched the ground. The dealer right away told me that the airbag ight was on and the owner said it had been reset 3 times. We took a chance. I since then read about the seat belt buckle. I Ebay'ed a cable, dowwnloaded VCDS-Lite and connected. Went to the AigBag section, and was somewhat alarmed by the on screen warnings of turn off ignition now, wait for the 26 second count down, turn ignition back on stuff. Anyway nothing blew up and I did clear the buckle switch error and the light went off. I have since entered, started, buckled up, drove 3 times and the light is still off. I will not do anything untill the light reappears. I believe it will. What is the proper sequence to attach the cable, turn igniton on, select the airbag module? I want to make sure I do this right. Another fault I cleared was implausible clutch switch setting. Not too worried, but curious, and thanks all for this fine forum. We have a Fiero, and 2 early 80's BMW motorcycles so I know the value of these forums. I do electronics / automation for the factory I work at so I fully understand the idea of the 470 ohm resistor and will probably go that way if this persists. Thanks again.

If this is going to be your daughter's car I wouldn't go with the 470 ohm resistor to clear the airbag light, it's not safe and not worth it.I would just buy the defective seatbelt on ebay for about 60-70 bucks and replace yourself. Good luck man and welcome to new beetle.org I would take care of the timing belt/water pump issue ASAP!

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by esse10

If this is going to be your daughter's car I wouldn't go with the 470 ohm resistor to clear the airbag light, it's not safe and not worth it.I would just buy the defective seatbelt on ebay for about 60-70 bucks and replace yourself. Good luck man and welcome to new beetle.org I would take care of the timing belt/water pump issue ASAP!

I would suggest not to buy the "Defective" seat belt on E-Bay but rather one that's in working order

[jfoj]

These stupid buckles trigger airbag lights due to the poor connection AND the releases also hangs and sticks so you cannot easily unbuckle the belt.

If you have one bad one, you might as well replace both of them while you are at it for a safety and peace of mind. Very small price to pay IMHO.

[esse10]

Originally Posted by IndyTom

I would suggest not to buy the "Defective" seat belt on E-Bay but rather one that's in working order

Well i hope he would have test it before putting it on there is a step by step thread around here on how to do that I believe.
well I meant the one he finds to be defective cause that code can be caused from anything that fails in that system.

[Darwin]

Before you go buying expensive parts it may be worth checking that the seat airbags are actually plugged in , my 2000 had an airbag light and it was simply not plugged in under the passenger seat.

Work of Warning , Keys out of the ignition and battery disconnected before you start having a fiddle